QDesign
To Provide MPEG Audio Compression for Digidesign's ProTools System
Vancouver, Canada (November 4, 1996) - QDesign Corporation announced
today that its i-Media Audio MPEG compression software technology has
been selected by Digidesign, Inc. as an audio compression solution for
users of ProTools. The i-Media Audio plug-in offers ProTools users high
fidelity audio compression at the widest range of compression levels.
i-Media Audio will be demonstrated at the Audio Engineering Society AES
101st Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center, November 8th -
11th, , 1996.
Introduced as a 32-bit Windows 95/NT application, i-Media Audio enables
real-time, studio-quality audio encoding from a live or recorded audio
source without the need for compression hardware. Fully compliant with
the MPEG Layer 1 and 2 standards for audio bitrate reduction, the software
employs an advanced implementation of the MPEG standard and a sophisticated
perceptual coding model to deliver the highest possible quality in audio
compression.
i-Media Audio is targeted for applications intended for the Internet,
audio-on-demand, audio e-mail, multimedia authoring, music archival and
audio distribution. It supports tremendous scalability in compression,
making it suitable for producing audio content for a wide range of applications
demanding optimized audio quality at many compression levels. For instance,
transparent CD-quality audio can be created with 6:1 compression and Internet-quality
audio can be created with compression ratios greater than 60:1.
"Digidesign's customers in the broadcast and new media markets are demanding
superior audio compression technology with unprecedented enthusiasm,"
states Ed Gray, Manager of the Digidesign Third Party Development Partners
Program. "Digidesign's open audio systems concept allows us to partner
with audio industry pioneers, like QDesign, to bring new technologies
to market very quickly. We're pleased to have formed this alliance with
QDesign and excited about the prospects of i-Media Audio."
"Compression is becoming a very important component of the audio production
process as the need for digital archival and distribution becomes a critical
element of new studio and multimedia applications," notes Richard J. Beaton,
President of QDesign. "We are thrilled that Digidesign has evaluated and
chosen to offer i-Media Audio as the compression solution to ProTools."
i-Media Audio ProTools will be available as an AudioSuite Plug-In in the
first quarter of 1997. i-Media Audio is also available as a stand-alone
Windows 95/NT application and as a software developer's kit for OEM development
directly from QDesign.
About Digidesign
Digidesign, a
division of AVID Technology,
Inc. (NASDQ:AVID), is the leading digital audio production software and
systems manufacturer for the professional music, film, video, multimedia,
and broadcast radio industries. Digidesign's products integrate the tools
required for CD-quality digital recording, random access editing, advanced
signal processing and digital audio mixing applications. Digidesign products
are marketed in over thirty countries worldwide, through a distribution
network of value-added dealers, distributors, and OEM relationships.
About QDesign
Based in Vancouver, Canada, QDesign Corporation develops state-of-the
art interactive multimedia technologies and applications for the broadcast
and new media industries. With world-class expertise in compression technologies,
digital signal processing and advanced communications, the company offers
a platform of products and technologies which allow content providers
to compress, archive and distribute multimedia via any private or public
transmission network, including the Internet and private Intranets.
Contact:
QDesign Corporation
media@qdesign.com
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